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Now retired because of fail- ing eyesight, Gordon Long- house. 9 Coles Avenue. Wood- bridge. served his community for nearly 50 years and can claim having never lost any election he ever entered since first becoming a school trustee in 1920 while "homesteading" in Northern Saskatchewan. For the past 12 years. until charge of 300 “reliefers” con- he declined to seek re-election structing the first road into the as reeve of Woodbridge last north. December. Mr. Longhouse was It was through having the a member of Woodbridge Vil-"‘relief gang“ in the area that lage Council. He was reeve for Meadow Lake obtained its first his last 'two years on council. doctor and eventually the “only deputy-reeve for four years and all cedar hospital in the world,” a councillor for six years‘ a “gift" which Canadian Na- Born and raised near Wood- tional Railways may never bridge, attending the former know it contributed to the Lower Ninth Public School. the growing community. Born and raised near Woodâ€" bridge. attending the former Lower Ninth Public School. the former Woodbridge High School and Weston High School. Mr. Longhouse heeded the call of “Go west young man" in 1915 and began homesteading in the Meadow Lake area of Northern Saskatchewan. By THOMAS SOMES The majority of today‘s youth. Influenced by post-war afflu- ence. don't know the meaning of "hardship" and because they haven't experienced the rigors of battling nature and economic depression they lack purpose and (the ability to “make up their minds“ says a man with an enviable record of commun- lty service. World War I interrupted his homesteading and he joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 turning to Saskatchewan 1919. 1919. However, the new doctor was At a dance in Moose Jaw. he upset because he didn‘t have met the former Julie Violet proper facilities to treat pa- Bridgeman and the couple were tients and so it was decided to married in Regina. On Nov- build a hospitaL ember 1, they and their nine “We didn't have any money children celebrated the couple‘s to build a hospital and although 50th anniversary at a family re- lumber was cheap_ we didn’t union in Woodbridge. even have enough money to Four of her children. Muriel. Dan. Bill and Jack. were born without a doctor in attendance and Mr. Longhouse was “mid- wife" in the delivery of Dan. near miles road. acres “I cut every tree with an a and pulled every stump \vi horses in that 300 acres," 55 Mr. Longhouse. SURVIVED DEPRESSION and pulled 8"er stump with Resourcefulness was nothing‘ horses in that 300 acres." said new to the hardy homesteaders Mr. Longhouse. of Meadow Lake. Mr. Long- SURVIVED DEPRESSION house. who first entered public “Life in Northern Saskatch- life in 1920 as a trustee of the ewan was tough. particularly original public school board. during the depression after the proudly says the Meadow Lake crash in 1929, but there was no School Board built the first better life and YOU quickly school and operated all through learned to be iesourceful andthe depression without ever go- think for yourself." he. adds.iing into debt. “That‘s what‘s wrong with to- “We were maybe the only days young people. they have school board in Saskatchewan it so good they haven‘t had who always had a surplus." said to think for themselves andIMr. Longhouse. they keep wanting someone else! The school board started off to do their thinking for them.“ion the "right foot" from the 12 THE LIBERAL, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Thursday, Dec. 11, 1969 .‘v; uu ~«v..w~,..v..m... Their nine children, one who t1a\elled flom F1a11kf111t,\\est Gelmany. new “with the folks’ as M1 and M18. Longhouse celeb1ated then anni\e1sary, along “ith dozens of f1iends from York County. Community Service Span: More Than 50 Years Mayor Thomas Broadhurst of Richmond Hill presents a set of earrings and a cuff link set to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Longhouse of Woodbridge, as the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on November 1. uuauvvauuaa .. .‘v.y...~y- -. Mr. Lvonghouse, a member of Woodbridge Village Council for 12 years, met his bride, the former Julie Violet Bridgeman, at a dance in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The couple were mar- ried at Regina and for the next 22 years they “homesteaded” in the Meadow Lake area of Northern Saskatchewan. 1n "I can remember after the crash in 1929 loading 60 bushels of wheat onto a sleigh and haul- ing it to the railroad which by then was 45 miles south. It was a three-day trip there and back and the wheat sold for 19 cents a bushel. I wouldn‘t want to see that happen again, but it‘s something wheat farmers should think about today," he says. To augment his meagre in- come from the farm. Mr. Long- house obtained employment with the provincial highways department in Northern Sask- atchewan and was foreman in change of 300 “reliefexs” con- structing the £11 st road into the north It was through having the "‘relief gang" in the area that Meadow Lake obtained its first Provincial law required there be a doctor in communities where “relief gangs" were lo- cated and the first doctor. an intern from Winnipeg, was hir- ed for $300 a month. When the workmen were laid off for the winter and the doc- tor's income ceased. he quit. but a second doctor who remained in the community replaced him. Although the depression wip- ed out many farmers and left thousands of men jobless, Mr. Longhouse struggled through. a second doctor who remained Mr. Longhouse was a wor- in the community replaced him. ried man when he arrived in However, the new doctor was Woodbridge with his wife and upset because he didn‘t have nine children. "I had no trade proper facilities to treat pa- other than farming and didn’t tients and so it was decided togknow how I was going to make build a hospital. a living, but a cousin of mine “We didn‘t have any money convinced me I should go to to build a hospital and although work for Victory Aircraft atl lumber was cheap, we didn’t Malton,” he recalled. even have enough money to “When I got over to Victory. buy lumber. But the CNR had all they were hiring was elec- icome north and just outside tricians and after over 20 years re ce Even before the first two- room school was constructed. the trustees “had applied to the provincial government for edu- cation grants and taxes had been levied. ”We built the school and the board operated throughout the depression with- out ever going into debt. The people at Meadow Lake were the kind of people who believed in paying cash for what they got and doing without if they didn't have it." 'he says. ILLNESS FORCES RETURN EAST beginning when it was decided union contiact signed between a school would be necessary to the Clovm corporation and the educate the childien in the union. growing community of about For three years he served on 250 people. the union grievance committee Even before the first two- and he was the workman the room school was constructed. general manager called in to the trustees 'had applied to the announce the shutdown of the provincial government ‘for edu- plant. Mr. Longhouse, who sti a fondness for Northern atchewan. was forced to his beloved “homestead" return to Woodbridge be of an ulcerated stomach. “I intended to go back two or three years down but so many things hap that I finally sold the stead for $10 an acre, inc] all the machinery, throug Department of Veterans fairs in 1944. I was ba Meadow Lake on vacatior “I intended to go back after two or three years down here. but so many things happened that I finally sold the home- stead for $10 an acre, including all the machinery, through the Department of Veterans‘ Af- fairs in 1944. I was back to Meadow Lake on vacation four years ago. It has changed, with paved streets, hydro and all municipal services, undreamed of when I left there in 1941. It's present population is 3,800 and it is a thriving town," he says. Mr. Longhou a fondness fox atchewan. was his beloved ‘ return to W01 of an ulcerate in the Saskatchewan bush, I didn’t even know how to turn on a light let alone wire an air- plane,“ he said. “But my cousin encouraged me. reminding me that I seem- ed to know something about keeping my car running and the machinery on the farm run- ning so I started at Victory as an ignition electrician. I learn- ed quickly and was one of the seven electricians who wired the first Lancaster bomber built at Victory. It was my job to do the wiring from wing tip to wing tip. including all the wir- ing for the engines. the cockpit ‘and the radio." he said. Active in the co-operative movement in Saskatchewan, from which the Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation. now the New Democratic Party, evolved. Mr. Longhouse saw a need for organization of labor at Victory Aircraft and was an organizer of the union. Appointed as a member of the negotiating committee. he still has a copy of the first UNION ORGANIZER still has n Sask- .0 leave d" and because N. I. c. E. F. XMAS CARDS and CALENDERS , ’V The Inn Shoppe 78A Yonge St. South 884- 7887 “It was an honor to have been chosen to arrange the meeting at which the announcement was GIVE YOUR CHILD A COSMO MUSIC CO. 1 Yonge St. South SEE OUR LARGE SELECTION OF USE OUR LAY-AWAY PLAN CALL TODAY AT 884-5272 ;. South Richmond Hill Open Every Nite to 9 pm. mars/tall g (“18” (1/ W0 I GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING . .. 126 Yonge Street North, Richmond Hill Serving the Community under the Wright 8; Taylor and Pipher Chapels since 1876 "It is still pretty much the same community I remember 60 years ago. although electric street lights have replaced the five oil lamps I used to help light when I was a boy. gravel streets are now paved and there are a few new subdivisions,“ he says. “But the heart of Woodbridge is pretty much unchanged. The old public school, now the hy- dro building, is still there. so are all the churches, the Orange Hall and the three hotels. al- though only one is still operat- ing." he adds. Follom'ng the shutdown of Victory Aircraft. Mr. Long- house operated Elm Park in Woodbridge for three years and then went to work for A. V. Roe for a year. He then built the Terrace Lunch on Highway 7 at Wood- bridge and operated it for three years before forming his own construction company which re- mained in business for six years. For the past 10 years he operated as a real estate agent. but because he can no longer drive a car, is now retired. DEPLORES LACK GROWTH Mr. Longhouse says he is dis- appointed that Woodbridge has never grown. Mr. Longhouse says one of his greatest satisfactions since coming back to Woodbridge was having served for two years on the Board of York Manor at Newmarket. made to the 10,000 workers he said. “I can remember back in 1910 going to York Manor with my father who served on the board for many years. Being able to follow him has been ‘some- thing a little extra’, said Mr. Longhouse. whose father, the late Dan Longhouse. was a for- mer reeve of Vaughan Town- ship and for 60 years was a director of the Woodbridge Fair. At. the family reunion on November 1 were: Mrs. Zelma Hooker. of Mount Denis; Phylis Longhouse. of Weston; Mrs. Muriel Brownlee, of Wood- bridge; Dan. Bill and Jack, all of Woodbridge; Bob. of Frank- furt, West Germany; Ed. of Snelgrove. and Mrs. Doreen Bryson, of London, the Long- house children, and the 21 grandchildren. SUTTON â€" W. D. Bruce of this community has been named a director of the Ontario Milk Distributors Association at its 40th annual convention held re- cently in Toronto. . GUITARS . ACCORDIONS . AMPLIFIERS . DRUMS 9 MUSIC BOOKS LIMITED 884-1062 ome mMm a wwwwmmmmmmwr Y) :1‘ e 51 KEELE ST. N" MAPLE (1 Block North of Stoplights) 832-2455 $JJ$JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJwJJJJJJ Jfltflfl‘flflcfléfl :1 Q m HOLLAND PARK GARDEN CEN'I'RE AND GREENHOUSES (1 Block North of the Stoplights) HOLLAND PARK CANADEC wane Mixed to D H 0. 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